Ten thousand attend opposition rally criticising president
1. Wide shot of the rally
2.
Mid shot of puppet of
President Chen Shui-bian and people holding banners
3.
People holding model missiles
4. People holding posters reading: "No to arms purchases, we want
peace."
5. People chanting slogans in
Mandarin: "No to constitutional change", "No to the end of the
National Unification Council and anti-arms deals."
6.
Various people of marching
7.
Close up of poster reading: "
Money to US,
Debt to
Taiwan," "We love peace, we hate war."
8. Wide shot of gathering
9. Close up people chanting
10. SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin) Kuo Chung-I, Protester:
"The arms sales deal will only worsen the confrontation between
Taiwan and China. We don't want to see the arms procurement deal and the recent move to end the workings of the National Unification Council by President Chen will add tension across the
Taiwan Strait."
11. Wide shot of
Nationalist Party Chairman Ma Ying-jeou, walking along with rally
12. SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin)
Ma Ying-jeou, Chairman of the Nationalist Party:
"The purpose of today's rally is to ask for a better life for all
Taiwanese people and save Taiwan
. In the meantime, there is corruption again and again in our government and people are not leading a good life. But sadly our president only cares about the disputes over Taiwan's unification or independence. Therefore, we want Taiwanese people to stand out and really express what they think about the government."
13. Ma marching with the crowd
14. SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin)
Vox Pop, Protester:
"We don't need arms purchases. Even if we buy a lot of weapons, we are not able to fight against
China. Why not use the money on children's education, the unemployed and so on to save Taiwan?"
15. Various shots of the rally
STORYLINE:
Tens of thousands of opposition supporters marched in the streets of
Taipei on Sunday to protest against President Chen Shui-bian's termination of a government committee responsible for unification with rival China.
On Feb. 27,
Chen announced that the 15-year-old National Unification Council would cease to
function, provoking angry condemnation from
Chinese leaders and strong criticism from Taiwan's Nationalist Party and its legislative allies.
The opposition, which supports eventual unification, says that instead of provoking China, Chen should work to improve the island's economy, which has struggled to make the transformation from manufacturing powerhouse to service provider.
Taiwan and China split amid civil war more than five decades ago, but
Beijing still claims sovereignty over the self-ruled island, and threatens force if it moves toward formalising its de facto independence.
Demonstrators carried banners criticising Chen's independence-leaning policies, saying "no to constitution change".
Ma Ying-jeou, the chairman of the Nationalist Party who took part in the rally, said corruption was rife in the government.
"Sadly our president only cares about the disputes over Taiwan's unification or independence," he added.
On March 18, Chen's ruling
Democratic Progressive Party (
DPP) plans to hold a rally of its own to protest against alleged
Chinese aggression against Taiwan.
The DPP and its allies say they want to draw the attention to the first anniversary of a
Chinese law codifying the use of force against the island.
Rally goers also protested against a long standing and controversial offer by the US to supply 16 (b) billion dollars worth of missiles, and anti-submarine planes.
The offer has been voted down many times by the opposition in Taiwan's parliament.
Sunday's march was to end in front of the
Presidential Office building, where
Nationalist leader and prospective
2008 presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou was to address the crowd.
keyword-protests
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